Both the number of homes in foreclosure and completed foreclosures throughout the nation declined significantly in December, according to CoreLogic’s National Foreclosure Report.
The number of completed foreclosures decreased 40 percent to 21,000 in December 2016 from 36,000 in December 2015, according to the report. The number of completed foreclosures in December 2016 was 82 percent lower than the number reported in September 2010, the peak of foreclosures.
Additionally, the nation’s inventory of foreclosed homes in December 2016 stood at 0.8 percent (329,000) of all homes with a mortgage, compared with 1.2 percent (467,000) in December 2015.
“While the decline in serious delinquency has been geographically broad, some oil-producing markets have shown the effects of low oil prices on the housing market,” CoreLogic Chief Economist Dr. Frank Nothaft stated in a press release accompanying the report. “Serious delinquency rates rose in Louisiana, Wyoming and North Dakota, reflecting the weakness in oil production.”
CoreLogic President and CEO Anand Nallathambi said he expects increasing employment levels and stringent underwriting standards to continue to drive down the foreclosures.
“As the foreclosure inventory diminishes, we must look ahead and tackle tight housing supply and growing affordability issues which are keeping many potential homebuyers, especially first-time buyers, on the sidelines,” Nallathambi said.
The report identified Florida (45,000), Michigan (30,000), Texas (24,000), Ohio (21,000), and California as the states with the most foreclosures in December 2016. North Dakota (182), the District of Columbia (254), West Virginia (312), Montana (630) and Alaska (668) had the lowest number of completed foreclosures in December 2016.